GAO HORSE SLAUGHTER REPORT

By Bob Silbernagel

The number of horses sent to slaughter didn't decline after Congress effectively shut down horse slaughter plants in the United States in 2006, but horse welfare did because horses going to slughter now have to travel further, to plants in Mexico and Canada. Meanwhile, prices for lower-end horses fell, over and above the amount caused by the recession, and animal cruelty cases have increased.

So says a report released Wednesday by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, a report sure to provoke controversy among animal welfare groups and horse welfare advocates who pushed for the ban on U.S. slaughterhouses.

Among a herd of recommendations, the GAO suggests Congress should reconsider the legislation that halted horse slaughter in this country.

Click on the link below to read the summary of the report. At that GAO site, you can also link to the full, 68-page report and a highlights page.